Syrian president declares amnesty for prisoners

BEIRUT - Syrian state media reports that President Bashar Assad has declared a general amnesty for prisoners in the country.

The decree comes just five days after Assad won a third, seven-year term in office amid the 3-year-old civil war in his country. It was not clear how many -- if any -- prisoners will be freed.

The report Monday by the state-run SANA news agency did not say if the amnesty would apply to the tens of thousands of opposition supporters and their relatives activists say are held in the country. (AP)